Thursday, August 31, 2017

My friend, minigolf rival and all-round miniature golf superstar Olivia Prokopová has a book and DVD out and I've finally added them to my collection. While my Czech language skills are non-existent the book is still well worth a look as it is a great archive and chronicle of Olivia's career.

Flicking through the pages there are lots of brilliant photos from tournaments and courses around the world and it was great fun spotting characters from the world of minigolf - past and present - in the book.

In our match-up I picked up the win with a score of 43 to Emily's 46. Neither score was enough to trouble the leaderboard for the PIAG Open competition which was running during our visit. Emily did manage to win a free game on the Lucky Last Hole though.

My favourite part of the course was the 'bottomless pit'!

We'll be back to play the Lazy Lagoon course in the future.

Emily playing the 18th

Check out the Paradise Island Adventure Golf website for further details, opening times and prices. There are also Paradise Island Adventure Golf courses in Derby, Glasgow, Livingston, Manchester and Sheffield.

Friday, August 25, 2017

A visit to play the four Crazy Golf courses at Junkyard Golf on Brick Lane in London.

On my recent trip to London I got to play the four very crazy minigolf courses at Junkyard Golf on Brick Lane.

All the fun of the fear!

Each of the 9-hole courses has a quirky theme from films to music to the circus and it all adds up to a ludicrous miniature golf experience as you putt your way through, down and over all manner of different obstacles.

Even though the courses have been built out of scrap and other reclaimed materials the holes are playable - although from some of the tee-off angles I can't help but think the designer/builder is left-handed. My scores were as follows:

People often think all crazy golf courses have clown's mouths to putt through. Very few actually do

The end of the Bozo course

I wasn't expecting to see a three-wheeler at the course!

I do like a bit of indoor blacklight minigolf

The team at Junkyard Golf are on the move in Manchester, with a new permanent venue opening on First Street in September. There's also a new Junkyard Golf course opening in Oxford and plans for more sites around the UK.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

On my recent trip to London I met up with a bunch of mates and minigolf rivals to visit the indoor minigolf venue at Swingers Crazy Golf.

Swingers is home to two 9-hole Crazy Golf courses - The Lighthouse and The Windmill - and both were proving popular on Monday evening.

A view of The Lighthouse course

Swingers Crazy Golf is a superb venue with two great minigolf courses, excellent service and nice facilities. Everything from the putters to the scorecards have been created to the highest quality and it's a very pleasant place to spend a few hours playing Crazy Golf.

Dining out 100% gluten free at The Oxford Place restaurant in Leeds.

We recently visited Leeds specifically so we could once again dine out at The Oxford Place. The restaurant is superb. We had two brilliant evening meals and a great lunch. There are so many nice touches about dining at The Oxford Place. The service is excellent and the food is delicious. It's brilliant that the food is 100% gluten free and safe for Coeliacs. We're looking forward to our next visit already.

One of three excellent meals I had at The Oxford Place in Leeds over the weekend

Prior to our trip to St Annes on the Sea to play in the last Mini Major tournament of the season at MiniLinks Golf we'd noticed that Lowther Gardens in Lytham was home to a Crazy Golf course - how we'd previously missed it we don't know as we've been visiting Blackpool and the surrounding seasides since 2008!